Cork bathing locations see 'excellent' results after summer monitoring

Cork’s bathing waters have enjoyed an exceptionally strong season, with all monitored waters returning “excellent” results to date and 10 beaches holding Blue Flag status. The county also has 12 Green Coast awards, according to Cork County Council’s latest bathing water report.

Brendan Meagher, the council’s acting county engineer, said the sunny weather had helped conditions during the season. The data covers 30 beaches across the county, including 13 designated bathing waters monitored under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) programme.

One beach holds both a Blue Flag and a Green Coast award, while nine hold Blue Flags only and 12 have Green Coast awards. The council said all designated bathing waters had achieved excellent results so far this year.

Two new locations were added to the monitoring programme for 2026: White Bay in Cork Harbour and the Blue Pool in Glengarriff. Monitoring on Cape Clear has also moved to North Harbour, which the council said offers a safer and more accessible bathing location.

Social Democrats’ Isobel Towse welcomed the move, saying it made sense to monitor the more sheltered North Harbour as it is the part of Cape Clear most frequented by swimmers. She said it was important that water quality there continued to be monitored.

There was one significant incident during the season, when Cadogan’s Strand in Schull was closed as a precaution after reports of discoloured water. Investigations found no evidence of contamination and the bathing area reopened within three days.

The council is continuing investigative work at The Warren, or Cregane Strand, in Rosscarbery and at Fountainstown. DNA source tracking is being used to identify the origin of any contamination and support corrective action.

Strong results this season could support the return of Blue Flag status for Fountainstown and Garryvoe, although the council said this depended on continued performance for the remainder of the season.

It is also too early to determine whether Fountainstown or The Warren will regain their flags for 2027.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.